Recumbent Bikes, Bedrooms, & Burqas

We're shopping for a recumbent stationary bike for both of us. It was recommended by one of the Doctors because it's easier on the back. We think we want the Schwinn, but I think we'll have to have the bike shop order one because nobody seems to have one in stock. We don't want to buy on the internet because of service, instruction, etc. Today we went to 3 different bike/fitness shops, and we've been to a couple of others previously. We're closing in on decision time.

Today I cleaned my room, which in some cases means taking things from a pile in my room and putting them in a pile in a different place (heavy sigh). Anyway, now I have cleaned out one half of my closet of dark despair plus my room. Next I'll sort out the other half of the closet of d.d., and after that I'll probably have to clean my room again! (The never-ending battle with clutter continues.) Then I'll start on drawers, which is easier because you can do drawers one at a time.

Dick found a great article in the Washington Post by Anne Applebaum. She writes about how disconcerting it is for the Western world to accept veiled Muslim women in the workplace and in schools. She points out that it's not discrimination, it's just our custom to "look each other in the eye" and take notice of peoples' facial expressions. I think she did a superb job of articulating how people should behave in a country that has established rules of behavior and communication. I loved the article. See it at the link above (click on the title). Here is a short excerpt:

"And yet, at a much simpler level, surely it is also true that the full-faced veil -- the niqab, burqa or chador -- causes such deep reactions in the West not so much because of its political or religious symbolism but because it is extremely impolite. Just as it is considered rude to enter a Balinese temple wearing shorts, so, too, is it considered rude, in a Western country, to hide one's face. We wear masks when we want to frighten, when we are in mourning or when we want to conceal our identities. To a Western child -- or even an adult -- a woman clad from head to toe in black looks like a ghost. Thieves and actors hide their faces in the West; honest people look you straight in the eye."